Tamarind (Tamarindus indica, Sp. Pl.: 34 (1753))

Family: Fabaceae

Author: L.

Bibliography: Sp. Pl.: 34 (1753)

Year: 1753

Status: accepted

Rank: species

Genus: Tamarindus

Vegetable: False

Observations: Comoros, Madagascar

Description

The Tamarind, scientifically known as Tamarindus indica, is a notable member of the Fabaceae family. First described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 in his seminal work “Species Plantarum”, this plant has long been a subject of fascination and value across various cultures and regions.

Native to tropical Africa, especially prevalent in regions like the Comoros and Madagascar, the tamarind tree has been introduced and naturalized in many parts of the world, adapting well to the warm climates of South Asia, Central America, and parts of the Caribbean. It is renowned for its dramatic, broad crown and evergreen foliage, which provides welcome shade in tropical heat.

The tamarind tree can grow up to 24 meters tall, with a dense canopy of feathery leaves that sway gently in the breeze. The tree is easily identifiable by its elongated, curved seed pods, which turn a dark brown when mature. These pods contain the tamarind fruit, an incredibly versatile component in both culinary and medicinal applications.

The fruit pulp is tangy, complex, and richly flavorful, making it a prized ingredient in a variety of cuisines. It adds a distinctive sourness to savory dishes and is often used in condiments, sauces, and beverages. In traditional medicine, tamarind has been chronicled as a remedy for digestive issues, wounds, and fevers, thanks to its potential anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties.

Culturally, the tamarind tree holds significant importance; it is a symbol of longevity and often features in folklore and traditional practices. The tree’s hardwood is durable and termite-resistant, contributing to its use in furniture-making and construction in local communities.

Despite its wide distribution and varied uses, the tamarind tree thrives best in regions that mirror the conditions of its native habitats. Its preference for well-drained soils and a sunny climate ensures that it continues to flourish in the wild, as well as in cultivated settings.

In summary, the tamarind is not just a plant; it is an integral part of the ecosystem and an indispensable resource for many cultures. Its widespread presence from the Comoros and Madagascar to different parts of the world underscores its adaptability and importance in both ecological and human contexts.

Common Names

Eng: indian tamarind, tamarind, kilytree, tamarind tree, tormon
Deu: tamarinde, tamarindenbaum
Spa: tamarindo
Swa: mukwaya
Run: mushishi
Fra: tamarin, tamarindier, tamarinier
Swe: tamarind
Por: tamarindeiro, tamarindo, tamarinho, tamarino
Khm: អំពិល
En: Tamarind, Kilytree, Indian tamarind, Musiika, Musika, Accem, A̱ka̱laya, Clagi, Mè, Ci᷅ŋdà, इमिली, Tamarind Tree, Tormon, Indian date, Sampalok
Af: Tamarinde
Am: ሮቃ
Ar: تمر هندي, Homr, Sbar, Tamr al-hindi, تمر الهندي, تَمْر الهِنْدِي, صبار
Az: Hindistan tamarindası
Bm: Domi, Tome, Ntomi
Eu: Tamarindo
Be: Тамарынд
Bn: তেঁতুল
Bg: Индийски тамаринд
My: မန်ကျည်း
Ca: Tamarinde
Zh: 羅望子, 酸豆
Hr: Tamarind
Cs: Tamarind indický
Dv: ހެލެނބެލި
Nl: Tamarinde
Eo: Tamarindo
Fi: Tamarindi
Fr: Tamarin, Tamarindier, Tamarinier, Tanarub, Tamarin des Bas, Bois des iles, Tamarin d’Inde
Ff: Dabe, Jammi
Gl: Tamarindo
Ka: Თამარინდი
De: Tamarinde, Tamarindenbaum, Indische Dattel, Sauerdattel
El: Ταμάρινδος
Gn: Tamaríno
Gu: ખાટી આમલી
Ht: Tamaren
Ha: Tsamiya
He: תמרינדי
Hi: इमली
Is: Tamarind
Io: Tamarindo
Id: Asam jawa
It: Tamarindo
Jv: Asem jawa
Kn: ಹುಣಸೆ
Kk: Тамаринд
Km: អំពិល
Rn: Mushishi
Ko: 타마린드
Lv: Tamarinds
Lt: Indinis tamarindas
Mg: Voamadilo
Ms: Asam jawa
Ml: പുളി
Mr: चिंच
Ne: तित्री
No: Tamarind
Oc: Tamarind
Or: ତେନ୍ତୁଳି
Pa: ਇਮਲੀ
Ps: املۍ
Fa: تمر هندی
Pl: Tamaryndowiec indyjski
Pt: Tamarindeiro, Tamarindo, Tamarinho, Tamarino, Tambarina
Pt-br: Tâmara-da-Índia, Tamarinda, Tamarindo, Tamarindo-do-Egito, Tamarino
Ru: Тамаринд
Sa: तिन्त्रिणी
Sr: Tamarind
Sn: Musika
Sd: گدامڙي
Si: සියඹලා
So: Hamar, Raqay
Es: Tamarindo, Tamalina, Tamarinda, Tamarindus indica, Tamaríndo
Su: Asem
Sw: Mkwaju, Mukwaya
Sv: Tamarind
Tl: Sampalok
Zh-tw: 羅望子
Ta: புளி
Te: చింత
Th: ต้นมะขาม
To: Tamaline
Zh-hant: 羅望子
Tr: Demirhindi
Uk: Тамаринд
Ur: املی
Vi: Me
Wo: Begal, Daharg, Dakar, Jammeh, Daqaar
Yi: טאמארינד

Synonyms

• Tamarindus somalensis (Mattei)
• Cavaraea elegans (Speg.)
• Tamarindus occidentalis (Gaertn.)
• Tamarindus erythraeus (Mattei)
• Tamarindus umbrosa (Salisb.)
• Tamarindus indica var. emarginata (Chiov.)
• Tamarindus officinalis (Hook.)

Distribution

• Comoros (native)
• Madagascar (native)
• Aldabra (introduced)
• Andaman Is. (introduced)
• Angola (introduced)
• Aruba (introduced)
• Assam (introduced)
• Bahamas (introduced)
• Bangladesh (introduced)
• Belize (introduced)
• Benin (introduced)
• Bismarck Archipelago (introduced)
• Bolivia (introduced)
• Burkina (introduced)
• Burundi (introduced)
• Cambodia (introduced)
• Cameroon (introduced)
• Cape Verde (introduced)
• Caroline Is. (introduced)
• Cayman Is. (introduced)
• Central African Repu (introduced)
• Chad (introduced)
• Chagos Archipelago (introduced)
• China South-Central (introduced)
• China Southeast (introduced)
• Christmas I. (introduced)
• Colombia (introduced)
• Costa Rica (introduced)
• Cuba (introduced)
• Djibouti (introduced)
• Dominican Republic (introduced)
• East Himalaya (introduced)
• Ecuador (introduced)
• Egypt (introduced)
• Eritrea (introduced)
• Ethiopia (introduced)
• Fiji (introduced)
• Florida (introduced)
• Galápagos (introduced)
• Gambia (introduced)
• Ghana (introduced)
• Gilbert Is. (introduced)
• Guatemala (introduced)
• Guinea (introduced)
• Guinea-Bissau (introduced)
• Gulf of Guinea Is. (introduced)
• Hainan (introduced)
• Haiti (introduced)
• Hawaii (introduced)
• India (introduced)
• Iraq (introduced)
• Ivory Coast (introduced)
• Jamaica (introduced)
• Jawa (introduced)
• Kenya (introduced)
• KwaZulu-Natal (introduced)
• Laccadive Is. (introduced)
• Laos (introduced)
• Leeward Is. (introduced)
• Liberia (introduced)
• Libya (introduced)
• Malawi (introduced)
• Malaya (introduced)
• Maldives (introduced)
• Mali (introduced)
• Marianas (introduced)
• Marquesas (introduced)
• Mauritania (introduced)
• Mauritius (introduced)
• Mexico Central (introduced)
• Mexico Southeast (introduced)
• Mexico Southwest (introduced)
• Mozambique (introduced)
• Mozambique Channel I (introduced)
• Myanmar (introduced)
• Nepal (introduced)
• Netherlands Antilles (introduced)
• New Caledonia (introduced)
• New Guinea (introduced)
• Nicobar Is. (introduced)
• Niger (introduced)
• Nigeria (introduced)
• Northern Provinces (introduced)
• Oman (introduced)
• Pakistan (introduced)
• Panamá (introduced)
• Peru (introduced)
• Philippines (introduced)
• Puerto Rico (introduced)
• Rodrigues (introduced)
• Réunion (introduced)
• Saudi Arabia (introduced)
• Senegal (introduced)
• Seychelles (introduced)
• Sierra Leone (introduced)
• Socotra (introduced)
• Somalia (introduced)
• Southwest Caribbean (introduced)
• Sri Lanka (introduced)
• Sudan (introduced)
• Sumatera (introduced)
• Tanzania (introduced)
• Texas (introduced)
• Thailand (introduced)
• Togo (introduced)
• Trinidad-Tobago (introduced)
• Tuamotu (introduced)
• Turks-Caicos Is. (introduced)
• Uganda (introduced)
• Venezuela (introduced)
• Venezuelan Antilles (introduced)
• Vietnam (introduced)
• West Himalaya (introduced)
• Western Australia (introduced)
• Windward Is. (introduced)
• Yemen (introduced)
• Zambia (introduced)
• Zaïre (introduced)
• Zimbabwe (introduced)

Additional Images

Fruit

Taken May 30, 2021 by Marzanna Bug (cc-by-sa)

Taken Jan 9, 2020 by ddd (cc-by-sa)

Taken Jul 6, 2022 by Peter Lithner (cc-by-sa)

Taken Apr 14, 2021 by Leah Shaw (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Taken Jun 24, 2001 by Tela Botanica − Melis ANTONINO (cc-by-sa)

Taken Apr 22, 2017 by Hugo SANTACREU (cc-by-sa)

Taken Jan 18, 2017 by Hugo SANTACREU (cc-by-sa)

Taken Nov 18, 2019 by dominique rojat (cc-by-sa)

Taken Jun 17, 2010 by EOL − Harshjeet Singh Bal (cc-by-nc)

Leaf

Taken Jan 29, 2022 by Choy (cc-by-sa)

Taken May 30, 2021 by Marzanna Bug (cc-by-sa)

Taken Jan 9, 2020 by ddd (cc-by-sa)

Taken Jan 28, 2021 by barragan tinoco iago (cc-by-sa)

Taken Oct 31, 2020 by Yudiwijaya Yudiwijaya (cc-by-sa)

Habit

Taken Aug 28, 2017 by Tela Botanica − Sylvain PIRY (cc-by-sa)

Taken Jun 24, 2001 by Tela Botanica − Melis ANTONINO (cc-by-sa)

Taken Aug 28, 2017 by Tela Botanica − Sylvain PIRY (cc-by-sa)

Taken Nov 1, 2002 by EOL − David Bygott (cc-by-nc-sa)

Taken Jan 1, 1900 by EOL − Howard, R.A. (cc-by-nc-sa)

Bark

Taken Oct 7, 2020 by Viral22 (cc-by-sa)

Taken Apr 28, 2020 by cleve Seaman (cc-by-sa)

Taken Apr 27, 2022 by Margaret Brown (cc-by-sa)

Taken Dec 1, 2016 by Yves Demouy (cc-by-sa)

Taken May 30, 2021 by Marzanna Bug (cc-by-sa)

Other

Taken Feb 17, 2011 by Tela Botanica − Céline PIRAT (cc-by-sa)

Taken Dec 14, 2007 by Tela Botanica − Liliane Roubaudi (cc-by-sa)

Taken Dec 24, 2011 by Tela Botanica − Liliane Roubaudi (cc-by-sa)

Taken Dec 6, 2020 by Ayesha Aman (cc-by-sa)

Taken Jun 9, 2021 by Chittaranjan Padhi (cc-by-sa)

© copyright of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

© copyright of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

© copyright of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Sources

• WFO (No URL)
• IPNI (No URL)
• GBIF (https://www.gbif.org/species/2975768)
• POWO (http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:520167-1)
• PlantNet (https://identify.plantnet.org/species/the-plant-list/Tamarindus indica L.)

Specifications

Growth form: Single Stem

Growth habit: Tree

Growth rate: Moderate

Growth

Ph maximum: 8.0

Ph minimum: 4.5